Michael

Michael. Bonners. Bonwick. Cumbrian who knows something about everything, and much about nothing. Fast (and slow) planes/trains/cars and electronics.

[Britsky @TBrit90]

The world record, achieved on the previous patrol was 204 days (6.7 months), we are now at 198 days (6.5 months) and the replacement sub is yet to depart.

The timeline suggests the current one will be a few days off 7 months when it returns.

[Ron Eisele @ron_eisele]

6 April 1965. The BAC TSR.2 (tactical strike and reconnaissance aircraft) was cancelled by Labour P.M. Harold Wilson���s government in favour of the planned General Dynamics F-111 for the Royal Air Force. All airframes were ordered to be destroyed and burned.

[U.S. Naval Institute @NavalInstitute]

#OTD in 1942, HMS Campbeltown rammed the gates of the Normandie dry dock at St.Nazaire in German-occupied France. Commandos then disembarked to destroy machinery and other targets. The delayed-action explosives hidden on Campbeltown detonated hours later, knocking the dock out of service for the remainder of the war and killing several senior German officers who were touring the ship. HMS Campbeltown had been USS Buchanan before being transferred to the Royal Navy in the Destroyers for Bases Agreement.

[Ron Eisele @ron_eisele]

28 March 1967. FAA Blackburn Buccaneers from RNAS Lossiemouth dropped 1,000-pound bombs on the wrecked SS Torrey Canyon In an effort to reduce the size of the oil spill by setting it on fire.

[Prof. Frank McDonough @FXMC1957]

27 March 1963. Richard Beeching issued a report that led to huge cuts to the UK rail network with 2,363 stations being closed. At the time British Rail was losing £140M a year (worth £2:46 billion today). Critics thought the cuts went too far, ending many viable routes.

[Viola Beach @Viola_Beach]

It's 10 years today since we lost Kris, River, Tom, Jack & Craig. They’re forever in our hearts. Never to be forgotten ❤️ x

[Mike Martin MP 🔸 @ThreshedThought]

Jaw dropping from the Defence Select Committee this morning.

Former Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace explain why the UK military is constantly underfunded and the risks that we are taking on.

[Michael Glasper @MichaelCGlasper]

Fucking hell.

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

M y monologue from today’s Times at One with Andrew Neil @TimesRadio

The British economy is in a right old pickle and you might think whoever has been Chancellor of the Exchequer these past 18 months should bear at least some of the responsibility. But not Rachel Reeves. 

Everybody and everything is to blame — bar her. Not me, guv, is the new Treasury mantra. 

Even Brexit is being wheeled out, which she now says is undermining her economic strategy. Perhaps she didn’t know it happened when she unveiled her first Budget a year ago. She certainly didn’t mention it then. Now she does. Curious. 

Poor productivity is another of her culprits. Again, we’ve known about this for many years. Many of us warned that the OBR’s forecasts on productivity were too rosy. It’s recognised that at last, hence the downgrade in its upcoming economic predictions, which increases the black hole the Chancellor has to fill, this time one of her own making. 

But it’s the Tories to blame, claims Ms Reeves. And it’s true they left a poor legacy on productivity. But public sector productivity fell 0.7% in the second quarter of this year — the steepest fall in three years. Is that really the fault of the Tories too?

High borrowing costs are holding her back too, she says. Especially since we’re paying a ton of money in interest to service the debt. But I don’t remember Labour in opposition ever telling the Tories to borrow less. Indeed quite the reverse. During the so-called austerity years and the pandemic, Labour wanted the government to spend even more. 

And if we’re borrowing too much, why did she borrow an extra £30 billion in her first Budget? Which along with the extra £40 billion in taxes probably does more to explain the current plight of the economy than anything the Chancellor blamed this morning. 

Even Donald Trump is in her sights for the global headwinds we now face, as if his obsession with tariffs was one of life’s great unknowns. Maybe it was in 11 Downing Street. 

The Chancellor says her priorities are NHS waiting lists, reducing the national debt and cutting the cost of living. 

But despite the billions she’s already thrown at the NHS, waiting lists are down only a quarter of a million since the summer of 2024 and still stand at 7.36m. Why? Because healthcare productivity is down 1.5% on the year. So much for NHS reform.

The national debt is rising, not falling. The cost of living will hardly be helped by piling on extra taxes. Yet that is where we’re heading. 

Today’s early morning party political broadcast by the Chancellor was all about softening us up for big tax rises in breach of manifesto pledges. A not-so-subtle rolling of the pitch. 

If income tax thresholds are frozen for another two years and tax rates increased by 2p she’ll raise an extra £25 billion a year to fill in her black hole. Some variation of that is what we’re in for. 

Yet Chancellor Reeves still has the effrontery to claim she’s fixed the economy’s foundations. If that was true she wouldn’t be coming back for a shed load more in tax for the second year running. 

Unemployment is rising, inflation is the highest in the G7, growth is faltering (and is barely above 1% anyway), our national debt is rising faster than any major market economy, the tax burden is at a record level and about to rise more and total public sector productivity is close to stagnant. 

If that’s fixing the foundations the Chancellor must have used a cowboy builder. No doubt without the proper licenses.

[Michael @MBonwick]

@jenhunt_ I always recommend the canal - really nice and relaxing, water and greenery - you can choose where you join it and plenty of choice of places to stop for a drink

[Michael @MBonwick]

@Peter_Mugridge @railnigel Can do Peter, but actually pretty easy to find for yourself. The westbound (towards Ulverston) layby is built on top of the platform; the station building in between the carriageways where the crossover sliproads are now.

[Michael @MBonwick]

@Peter_Mugridge @railnigel The station was closer to Ulverston Peter, the building itself being between the carriageways approximately where the eastbound dual starts. However, the area you've marked is about right for getting the best view of the buried platform with the curvature!

[Michael @MBonwick]

@CaseFaceCFC It's not a scar, it's a chapter in your life story!

[Michael @MBonwick]

@concaveasitwere @OceanlinerLedge @railnigel Small, but much more beautiful lines!

[Michael @MBonwick]

@alishahayes_x First button I press after starting the car is the start-stop override 😂

[Michael @MBonwick]

@P_Stubbs14 Hope it's all gone well and you have a speedy recovery!

[Michael @MBonwick]

Crystal Palace have done us a decent favour there!

[Michael @MBonwick]

@CaseFaceCFC @cfclina79 Hard agree....can't believe she was only 16 when this came out. What might have been if it wasn't for music industry politics....

[Michael @MBonwick]

@CaseFaceCFC Glad everythings OK, hope you're feeling better soon! Speedy recovery!